


Desperate Times

by BleedingSparkles



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Joker (DCU) - Fandom
Genre: Batman - Freeform, Children, Complicated Relationships, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Harley Quinn - Freeform, Harley Quinns daughter, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Joker (DCU) - Freeform, Joker/Harley Quinn - Freeform, Jokers daughter, Minor Violence, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Original Character(s), Parenthood, Poison Ivy - Freeform, dc, dying child, scarecrow (DCU) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-07-28 19:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16248524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingSparkles/pseuds/BleedingSparkles
Summary: The Joker and Harley Quinn's daughter has fallen incredibly sick. Harley goes on a search in Gotham to find someone who can help figure out what's wrong with her, all while trying to keep her existence a secret from her father.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been six years since The Joker was gravely ill from injecting himself with mutated titan toxin. He was extremely lucky, thanks to Batman he managed to get the antidote in time before it killed him. Harley didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t of made it. It was an incredibly difficult time for the both of them, he got worse and worse as each day past and neither of them knew if he was going to live to see another. They had started to treat each day as if it was his last, because it just might have been. They had stopped arguing and The Joker was nicer to her when they weren’t busy looking for a cure.

If Joker dying and Harley having to take care of him wasn’t enough, she had also found out that she was pregnant. She thought she would be overjoyed with this news, but instead she was terrified. This is what she had always wanted, why was she only now having second thoughts? She had debated on telling him, but on the chances of him being furious she decided against it. She continued to devote all her time to him, and was always careful to not let him see her acting unwell herself. 

When he got better she then put her time to deciding what to do about her situation. She wanted to tell him but it was as if getting pregnant made her see things differently. He wouldn’t have time for a child, he was obsessed with batman. What if he abuses it? Harley wouldn’t be able to live with herself. She also realised that she wouldn’t want her child living in their lifestyle. She had made up her mind; she wasn’t going to tell him. 

She left, part of her knew it was wrong to have his child without telling him, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to get rid of it like he would want. She had told him that she was going to visit family. That part wasn’t a lie; she was going to stay with her sister. She did have an alibi but he didn’t seem too interested to hear it, as he was too deep in his work at the time. 

The months were long and hard, Harley missed The Joker so much it hurt. It didn’t help that half of her family weren’t okay with her having the child, and practically wanted nothing to do with it, but at least her sister understood. The pregnancy wasn’t going quite as smoothly as Harley wanted, as something seemed wrong with the baby. It wasn’t growing at the right pace, but none of doctors knew what the problem was. 

Harley gave birth to a small, underweight baby girl on the first day of April. Unfortunately she had to murder every witness as her daughter was the spitting image of her Father, right down to the green hair and white skin. Harley couldn’t tell if the tears she was crying were from joy or sadness when she first saw her child, as this wasn’t what she wanted; she wanted her to look normal. She named her April as April fool’s day was The Jokers favourite day of the year, and she knew that he would approve of the name if he was there. 

Harley gave April to Her sister Haley to raise and be given a chance of a normal life, despite her appearance. She told her that if anyone asks about her features and they probably will, to say that she fell in acid. Haley thankfully didn’t live anywhere near Gotham, so there was no chance of The Joker finding out about April as people didn’t really know who he was there. Harley had stayed for the first few months to breast feed her child as she had undiscovered issues, and to give her body a chance to recover from the pregnancy. 

As soon as Harley returned home, The Joker acted as if she hadn’t been gone at all. This gave Harley plenty of opportunity to think he didn’t care enough to even notice her gone, when little did she know he noticed a lot more than she thought. 

Harley would visit as often as she could, she wanted to be known as April’s aunt and she didn’t want to be the type of relative who never came by. When she couldn’t visit, she made sure that Haley kept her up to date on the progress of April as she grew, but it wasn’t always good news. On the subject of her unknown problems, it seemed that the more she grew the more obvious it became that something was wrong. 

Not only that but she seemed to act different compared to other children her age. She didn’t like being around other children, she seemed content with being alone. She was very spacey and often in a world of her own most of the time, sometimes she would even talk and giggle to herself. It was becoming very evident that she was a lot like The Joker; she had a thing for jokes and making herself laugh. She didn’t really care if anyone else thought she was funny, she was just interested in making herself laugh in any way she could. At first it seemed harmless, but then she started to get enjoyment out of hurting others. Most children laugh at watching someone get hurt, but when they start to go out of their way to hurt someone is when you really have a problem. 

She had gotten herself expelled from two different schools, which was odd considering she was only four at the time. She had tried to drown a child in the water play area, bitten countless other children and had tried to choke them with play food and phone cables, as well as doing many other destructive things. She would always do this for reasons only she would find funny; like out of revenge for people bullying her or curiosity, and sometimes just for a laugh or all three. Such as to see how long someone could breathe underwater, even though she wasn’t good at counting, or to see how much you would bleed if stabled with a pencil. She had even slammed a child’s head into a table, breaking their nose. 

She was assigned a child psychologist by one of the schools, which Harley wasn’t too keen on, and they quickly realised that neither was April. She decided to not engage them in conversation, and instead pretended as if they weren’t there. She had three sessions in total and didn’t speak a word in any of them, even though she normally loved to talk. Harley had requested to observe them from behind a one way mirror, and she hated how many similarities there were between April and The Joker when in therapy, as he had done the exact same thing with his own therapists.

Haley had quickly given up and decided to just have her home schooled instead, which Harley helped pay for. It was worrying for everyone, seeing a child so young yet so psychotic. Harley was beyond worry; her daughter was capable of so much at such an age, she feared for her future. She didn’t think it could get any worse but she was wrong, it got a lot worse. April was always extra sleepy and coughing a lot, but these symptoms slowly increased. She began to cough up blood almost every time and spent more and more time in bed. She became thinner everyday although she was eating, but even then she started to do that less and less. Her skin had also changed; you could always see a lot of her veins but now her skin became raw, it looked like she had a horrible skin disease. She went from being full of life and energy to being bed ridden. Although she still had time to laugh at her own misfortune. 

Harley was able to spend a lot more time around her in recent years, as since she was born Harley and Joker were having issues. Sometimes they were a couple, and sometimes they were a broken up couple with a lot of sexual tension between them, whenever around each other. This was because Harley had become a lot saner since having April as she broke the law less often, and acted more mature and thought more rationally.

April had quickly learned thanks to a slip of the tongue, that Harley was her mother. She wanted to be mad at both her aunt and mother for lying, but thankfully she was too ill to be bothered. They had asked countless private doctors to try and treat April but so far they have had no idea, all they could find was an unknown substance in her body which they had never seen before. Harley quickly went from being worried about her daughter’s future, to wondering if she was even going to have one as whatever was wrong was with her, was definitely killing her. 

........................

Harley was currently sat in the living room of her sister’s house. She was slouched on her cream leather sofa with a laptop, as she never stopped trying to look into what was wrong with her daughter.  
“Harley, how many times are you going to Google April’s symptoms?” Haley sighed as she entered the room with a cup of coffee. She looked very similar to her sister as they both had blonde hair and blue eyes, the only difference was that Haley’s hair was shorter and she liked to dress in pastel colours.

“Until I know what’s wrong with her” Harley quickly retorted in a serious voice, without looking up from the screen.  
Haley sat down in her armchair which matched her sofa, “I told you, you need to get her to see a specialist or something.”  
Harley rolled her eyes in her sister direction, “It’s not as easy as that, for one; they always get startled by how ghastly she looks which doesn’t exactly help, and two; I can’t trust some random doctor like that.”  
“I understand that” Haley told her sincerely, “but you need to do something, why don’t you just do what Conner suggested.” Conner was their older brother who was an actual doctor; he was one of the people in their family who wasn’t keen on April, but he couldn’t help but pity her. He had kept giving Harley multiple contact details of specialist which were of no help at all. He wanted Harley to take her to the hospital but she was highly against that, she didn’t want anyone knowing who April was related to. 

Harley looked her sister dead in the eye, “I don’t care what Conner thinks I should do, I am not seeking help in Gotham!” she spat firmly.  
Haley huffed, “You use to be friends with all those Criminals and you did say a lot of them are extremely intelligent, and that a lot of them were once scientists and doctors of some sort.” Harley quickly began browsing again, ignoring her sister. “Harley come’ on, we are really getting desperate at this point, it might be your only option.” Haley was beginning to beg her now, and Harley’s face began to scrunch up as if she was starting to consider it. Harley had already gotten Ivy to look at April, but she knew that she could trust her. Most of the other criminals got on better with The Joker, and she feared they would tell him. 

“Have you told your plant friend the idea, what’s her name again?” Haley then spoke, bringing Harley out of her thoughts.  
“Her name is Pamela but she goes more by Ivy, and no I haven’t.”  
“Well why don’t you? She is your best friend after all”  
Harley sighed in defeat “fine, I’ll give her a call if it’ll shut you up.” Harley then reached over and grabbed her phone from the end table, before bringing up her friends contact. Haley leaned back in her seat, and watched her so not to miss anything. 

It rang a few times before she heard the familiar voice; “Hey Harl, What’s up?”  
“Hey Pam, listen do you mind coming over to Haley’s? I need some advice about April” Harley asked cautiously as she chewed her bottom lip.  
“No I don’t mind, I can be there first thing tomorrow” Ivy answered comfortingly.  
“Thanks Pam, see you tomorrow.” Harley then hung up the phone and put it down next to her, “There, you happy?” Harley asked with agitation,  
“I am, but I don’t know why you aren’t.”  
“This is a stupid idea” she answered.  
Haley stood up and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder, “We have no choice.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ivy showed up first thing the next day, at ten in the morning. Harley brought her into the living room straight away and sat her down on the sofa. “So Harley, what’s this all about?” Ivy asked curiously as Harley paced about the room, biting her nails. When she didn’t acknowledge her question, Ivy looked over to Haley who was leaning on the kitchen door frame for an explanation. She groaned in annoyance and rolled her head, “just tell her, Harley” she then turned around and walked into the kitchen. 

Harley stopped pacing and finally turned her attention to Ivy. “As you know, April is very sick” she began quietly, “and we haven’t been able to find out why.” Ivy nodded and leaned forward in her seat, to signify that she was listening intensely. “Because we are running out of options, do you think I should ask for help from our friends in Gotham?”  
“Yes” Ivy nodded confidently. Harley looked at her in shock, as Ivy got to her feet and approached her. “Now, I know that you’re worried about what will happen if they tell ‘you know who.’ But think about what will happen if you don’t ask for help,” she told her calmly as she placed her hands on her shoulders.  
“I’d rather not,” Harley replied as she looked away in despair.  
“Exactly.”  
Harley moved away and walked around the room again, “I just don’t want anyone to know about her, that’s the thing.”  
“Would you really rather just let her die?!”  
“Of course not!” Harley snapped. 

Ivy followed her as she wandered, in an attempt to ease her worries when Haley poked her head in the doorway.  
“You did say that you would do anything to make her better” she reminded her sister.  
Harley went silent and slumped down into the armchair, “who would I even ask?” she sighed in defeat.  
“Mr Freeze, scarecrow, The Riddler, Bane and Hugo Strange for example” Ivy told her as she counted each one on her fingers.  
Harley just leaned on her hand and continued to mope, “Hugo strange is a double crossing ass who practices horrific experiments, I wouldn’t let him anywhere near my child.”  
“Fair enough,” Ivy agreed. She then paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling in thought. “Hey I have an idea” she beamed, “Why don’t you print off a copy of the substance in her body that’s killing her, and show people that? You wouldn’t have to give them any details, just ask them if they know it.”  
Harley lifted her head up in consideration, “That’s actually not a bad idea” she admitted. “Haley, do you think you could do that?” Haley smiled happily and nodded before running off upstairs to the computer. 

“Hey, How come you haven’t asked Batman?” Ivy then asked as Harley stood up.  
“April doesn’t like him for one, and I don’t think it would be a good idea for him to know that she could become a potential threat. He’d probably have her sent far away.”  
“Do you really think she could?” Ivy asked, almost surprised.  
“Definitely” Harley answered, before heading into the kitchen as Ivy once again, followed. 

“And how do you feel about that, Harley?” she asked her slowly, knowing that this was a sensitive subject.  
She rested both hands on the worktop and lowered her head before exhaling, “I don’t want to talk about it.”  
“I know she isn’t exactly the daughter that you always wanted, but that’s what happens when the father is a psychopathic clown” Ivy told her as she leaned on the kitchen table. “You need to love her for who she is.”  
“I know” Harley muttered. 

It was then that Haley reappeared in the room, causing Harley to stand up straight and face her. “Here you are” Haley spoke as she passed her the document, “And April is awake now by the way.” Harley glanced at the paper, before folding it up and putting it inside her back pocket.  
“I’m gonna go see her” Ivy announced out loud as she headed for the door, but stopped when she noticed that Harley wasn’t following. “Aren’t you coming, Harley?”  
Haley also looked over at Harley in confusion, “I-I don’t really like seeing her the way she is at the moment,” Harley admitted sadly as she looked to the floor.  
“Tuff, you’re her mum so you have to” Ivy told her firmly as she grabbed her arm and pulled her with her, while Harley groaned angrily. 

Approaching the lime green door at the end of the hallway was always like it was out of a scene in a horror movie, as it always made the person fill with dread. It always gave Harley the same feeling as when she had to approach The Joker when he was in his study. You never knew what mood they were in, they were either happy to see you or wanted to be alone. Harley hated seeing The Joker when he was mad and she hated seeing April when she was ill. 

When they came to the door, Harley knocked lightly which instantly gave her flashbacks. She then pushed it open as it creaked. April’s room was very unique as it displayed both weapons and toys. She had a Victorian style dollhouse up against one of the walls, which held a collection of small knives inside. Multiple drawings were displayed around the room, which ranged from smiley faces, to graphic drawings of other people. She had an old wooden chest next to the dollhouse which she kept all her toys and gadgets inside, a blue dresser and rainbow fairy lights which hung over the bed and window.

There inside the bed, lay April. She had purple sheets with a variety of stuffed animals at the end of it. Although she had all of these toys; she was clinging onto a white teddy bear with a green tuft on its head, as she lay amongst the sheets in her dark blue pyjamas with a star theme. The child could easily be mistaken for a rotting corps, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was breathing, slowly but surely. She was hooked up to an IV drip which stood between the bed and the nightstand, with an emergency oxygen tank and mask placed bellow it. She slowly opened her eyes as the two people entered the room. 

“Hullo” she croaked happily, Harley put on her best smile as she sat on the bed and stroked back her daughters green locks affectionately.  
“Hey sweetie” she cooed, “how are you feeling?”  
April smiled the best she could as her skin cracked slightly from the strain, it didn't help that she had her father's grin. “I’ve been better.”  
“Ivy’s come by to see you,” Harley told her as she tried to avoid looking at her damaged skin. She gestured over at her friend who stood by the end of the bed.  
“Hey little one,” she waved as she came and knelt down beside her.  
“Hi Ivy, what brings you to my fun-house?”  
Ivy chuckled at the girl who was still so insistent on Joking around in her condition, “We have an idea on how to make you better.”  
April was unfazed by the news as she just looked at her, this wasn’t the first time that they had told her this information. “What’s that then?” she asked.

“Well” Harley began, “Mummy has friends out of town that might be able to help.”  
April looked up at her, intrigued. “Friends? What friends?”  
“Friends that are very smart, and who might be able to figure out what’s wrong with you” Harley told her. “We’ll be leaving soon so I want you to be a good girl while I’m gone, okay?”  
“Of course, mummy” she smiled innocently as she readjusted herself while making a few groans, “How long will you be gone?”  
“I will be no more than a few days, if that” Harley reassured while stroking the rough skin on her cheek.  
“Okay” she responded, as Harley leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead before standing up. “Mummy?” April spoke up, as the two girls headed for the door.  
“Yes honey?” Harley replied as they turned back to her.  
“I want to meet Daddy.” 

Harley Froze on the spot and she quickly shared uneasy looks with Ivy. This wasn’t the first time she’d asked about her father, but it was the first time she said that she wanted to meet him. They never brought him up, they didn’t want to. But eventually she realised from seeing other children with one that she was missing hers, so she was curious as to where he was. She had asked about him several times but they never told her anything. Haley wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to keep her in the dark like this, as it only fuelled her curiosity. But she had no choice but to do as Harley said. 

“April” Harley began with pity in her voice, as she came and sat back down on the bed.  
“Mummy please, I really want to meet him” April croaked out quickly. This was an obvious mistake as she instantly erupted into a coughing fit and shot up. Harley was quick to grab her a tissue from the nightstand and pat her back. “I wish you could, but you can’t” Harley told her as she continued to sooth her. She then grabbed the mask from its station as April wheezed heavily, and urged it over her mouth as she tried to catch her breath.  
“Why not?” April whined through the mask, as she finished drawing in fresh oxygen.  
Harley glanced over to Ivy who seemed to be lost in thought by the door, “You just can’t” Harley repeated before standing up again. April pouted in defeat as she collapsed back down against her pillow. What April had said had given Ivy an interesting thought, and she mentally reminded herself to speak to Haley before they left. 

Harley made sure that April had a drink of water before she and Ivy finally left the room. As Harley went to get herself ready in her room as she had been staying with her sister, Ivy quickly went downstairs to find Haley. She was sat on her sofa, flicking through the channels when Ivy appeared. “Excuse me Haley, but can I have a quick word in the kitchen?” she asked as she poked her head in the door. Haley looked puzzled at first as Ivy had never asked to talk to her in private before, but she quickly got to her feet and followed her to the kitchen and shut the door.

“What it is?” she asked as she pulled the door close.  
“I just had a thought,” Ivy began quietly; “there is another person that Harley can ask for help from, who might know what’s wrong with April.”  
“That’s great! Who is it?” Haley beamed,  
Ivy paused for a moment and went to check to make sure that Harley wasn’t anywhere within ear shot, as she peered through the crack in the door. Haley creased her brow in confusion as she watched her. “If none of the other rogues know, she could always ask The Joker” Ivy then whispered.  
Haley’s eyes went wide, “The Joker?!”  
Ivy shushed her harshly before continuing. “He is literally insanely smart and there is a chance that he might know, I think Harley would have to ask him if no one else knows. Even if he doesn’t know it would still be worth asking, I’ll need you to help me persuade her to do it if it’s the only option, okay?”  
Haley still looked unsure but she slowly nodded, “Okay.”

“Ivy, you ready?” Harley then called from the hallway, “where are you?” The two quickly emerged from the kitchen just as Harley was pulling on her coat. “What were you two up to?” she asked quizzically as she looked over at them.  
“Just chatting while waiting for you, now come on we don’t have time for standing around,” Ivy stated hastily as she passed her and headed for the front door. Harley raised her brow suspiciously and watched her move but quickly shrugged it off, before following her outside.


	3. Chapter 3

Harley and Ivy spent the majority of the hour long car journey in silence, as Harley wasn’t in a particularly chatty mood. Ivy had tried to make convocation but all Harley did was hum in acknowledgement, or not answer at all. Ivy had quickly given up and changed to staring out of the window or being on her phone. She would also turn on the radio from time to time just to see if there was anything special going on in Gotham at the moment, but luckily it seemed quiet. They didn’t want to get into the city to find someone had blown up one of the many building lining the main streets. 

“I Think we should head straight to the iceberg lounge,” Ivy suddenly stated as they had now just entered Gotham.   
“You think so?” Harley asked as she kept her eyes on the road.   
“Yeah, we have no time to lose and that’s where everyone will most likely be.”   
Harley glanced over at her, “Including Mr J?”   
Ivy exhaled heavily and rolled her eyes. “Harley, you have to forget about the fact that you’re trying to keep this a secret, you need to make getting April better the priority here.”  
“I know that,”  
“Do you?” Ivy interjected, “because you’ve been acting as if making sure that Joker doesn’t finds out is the main priority.”  
“That isn’t true!” Harley defended quickly as her voice grew higher.  
Ivy paused as she stared at her friend, “I think you’re lying to yourself Harley,” she sighed. “It’s because you’re afraid of what he’ll do isn’t it?” she then asked.  
Harley didn’t respond, she just kept driving down the evening streets of Gotham, but Ivy could tell that she was thinking. “But is it because you’re afraid of what he’ll do to April, or what he’ll do to you?” Ivy continued as she looked at Harley for a response. Harley still didn’t give it as she pulled up outside the venue, but she clearly wasn’t doing it because she was ignoring her, Ivy knew that it was because she didn’t have an answer. 

“That’s what I thought” Ivy muttered to herself once Harley had gotten out of the car. Ivy understood why Harley never told The Joker that he had a child; Ivy’s first thought was that he’d try to kill her, but considering the circumstances she didn’t think he would do that, as she was a goner either way. Her next thought was that he’d try to poison her mind and taint her way of thinking just like he did for Harley, but it turns out that she didn’t need The Joker’s influence to become like him as she had already mastered that. This is why Ivy didn’t see the point in hiding April anymore. Maybe if she was how Harley had imagined but she wasn’t; she didn’t like all things pink and have nice blonde hair, she preferred to be chaotic and have fun just like her father. 

...................

Once they entered the huge club, they quickly scanned the main hall. Ivy was right; pretty much everyone she knew was there. Some of them were at the bar on the far left, some were sitting in booths or at tables chatting and others were playing poker at the back. Ivy noticed Harley staring at The Joker wearily from where she stood. Even though he was at one of the Poker tables with Two-face and Scarface, she couldn’t quite seem to move. He wasn’t even facing her so he obviously wasn’t aware that she had come in. “Come on Harley, who do you want to ask first?” Ivy coaxed, while nudging her in the side.

Harley blinked out of her daze and quickly looked around the room again. “Um, Scarecrow” she blurted out before making her way over towards said person, who was standing at the bar. 

“Eye up Joker, look who just walked in” Two-face whispered to his opponent discreetly. The Joker glanced over his should at who Two-face was gesturing towards. He chuckled under his breath and grinned, “Well if it isn’t Harley.”   
“We haven’t seen her in a while, I wonder what she’s up to” Scarface commented as the three of them watched her swiftly move towards the bar, while clutching a folded up piece of paper.

“Hey, Johnny” Harley smiled.   
Crane, who wasn’t currently wearing his mask instantly spun around as he recognised the familiar voice of his old friend. “Harley, it’s so good to see you!” he chirped as he then pulled her in for a hug. Crane paused and pulled away when he noticed that she was particularly tense, he lowered his head to meet her gaze as it was drifting to the floor. “What’s wrong?” He asked before glancing over to Ivy who stood behind with a just as troubled expression.   
Harley breathed in deep, “Do you recognise this substance?” she whispered as she carefully handed him the paper.   
Crane looked at her confused before opening it up and studying the document. “Interesting” he murmured, “I’ve never seen anything like this before” he then added. Harley sighed and looked to the floor as he folded it up and handed it back, “What’s this about?” he asked with concern.   
“I can’t say, I just need to find someone who knows what this is” she told him desperately as Ivy nodded in agreement. 

Crane continued to look concerned as he then began to think while peering around the room. “You could ask pretty much anyone here” he gestured around, “But why haven’t you asked The Joker? You of all people know he has experience with strange substances.” Ivy instantly palmed her face from behind Harley, which Crane furrowed his brow at as Harley’s eyes quickly shot alert and glazed over.  
“No!” she spat firmly.   
“I’m sorry Harley, but you seemed pretty desperate, and he is the most logical person to ask here despite your history” Crane explained. Harley just flared her nostrils and stormed off to ask someone else. Crane watched her leave before looking over to Ivy in utter confusion, “What’s up with her?”  
Ivy sighed and leaned on the bar next to him, “I thought the same thing” she began. “It’s a disease that’s killing someone close to her, so she really needs to find a cure but she’s treating it like it’s the second priority.”   
“What’s the first priority to her?” he asked, intrigued.   
“Not letting Joker know,” Ivy muttered sadly before walking off after Harley.

The Joker continued to watch as Harley travelled from person to person from where he sat, showing them the mysterious piece of paper. They would always look at it before shaking their heads and giving it back, Harley got more and more depressed with each person she approached, almost like she was losing hope. He found the entire scenario extremely intriguing, He was growing very curious indeed. 

Everyone had noticed that she had been acting extremely odd in recent years, as she was seen less frequently in Gotham and that she had lost her care free attitude. She always seemed troubled by something, and he could definitely see it when she came in. she was obviously not there for pleasure, just business. The Joker quickly noticed that she was going though everyone, everyone except him and anyone near him. There was obviously something strange going on, and he couldn’t help but feel like it involved him in some way as it seemed that she was purposely avoiding him. She then left just as swiftly as she entered, with Ivy following behind. 

.............

Harley decided to go and stay with Ivy until they figured out a plan. When she got inside the car she just sat there for a little while, staring out into the dark street through the windshield. “Harley, are you okay?” Ivy asked cautiously as she sat down. Harley didn’t respond, although her face displayed both anger and sorrow. “We can come back tomorrow, there will probably be more people we can ask then” she suggested in hopes of calming her down.   
“Why did half of that lot tell me to see The Joker?” she growled while still staring dead ahead.   
Ivy looked around nervously before speaking, “He could help you know” she told her gently.   
“Oh no not you as well!?” Harley groaned as she looked over at her, “I’m not asking him, end of discussion!” Harley shouted before turning the engine on. “Even if no one can help her, I’m still not talking to him!”

Ivy stared at her, shocked by her words. “She asked to see him Harley, It’s practically her dying wish.” Ivy was trying to stay as composed as possible. She knew this talk would have to happen, and she knew it was going to be in no way, easy.  
“I don’t care! You’re meant to be my best friend, Red. Why are you suddenly turning on me?”  
“I’m not turning on you, Harley” She began gently. “But can’t you see that you’re being irrational right now? I get it, your daughter is ill but don’t you think that because me of all people thinks you should talk to The Joker, that you are dismissing the matter way too fast?”   
“No!” Harley spat in retaliation, without even giving it a second thought. Ivy rolled her eyes and threw her arms in the air at the fact that Harley was proving her point. “They’re better off not knowing each other.”  
“If she wasn’t dying I’d agree with you, but because she is and that she actually asked for him, it might be worth considering.”  
“He wouldn’t help her” Harley growled darkly. “If I told him, he’d kill me then her.”

Ivy gave her a deadpan look, “You and Joker have had more fights then I can count. Just like him and batman; you two seem unable to kill each other. You both have had plenty of chances yet you never take it, and as for April; she’s already dying. From what I’ve seen; The Joker wouldn’t kill someone who’s going to die anyway.”  
“Well I think what I’ve done this time has been a bit worse than the rest, he’d probably have more motivation to kill me and if he got the chance, he’d probably take it now.”  
Ivy stared at her again, astonished. “I can’t believe it; You are scared of him.”   
Harley glared daggers at her before slamming her foot on the peddle, causing both of them to be forced into their seats as she drove off to Ivy’s in a tense silence. As soon as they got to hers, Ivy climbed out of the car and turned around to see Harley quickly drive off again. Ivy shook her head as she went, before heading inside.


	4. Chapter 4

Harley had driven to stay at a motel for the night instead of staying with Ivy, she couldn’t bare to be around her after the argument they had. She didn’t want to go to The Joker for help, she had made that very clear. She kept telling herself that it was to protect April, but after what Ivy pointed out she couldn’t help but feel like it was now an excuse. At least being on her own for the night would give her a chance to properly think about things. She remembered everything she said back in the car; she didn’t mean for some of those things to come out as harsh as they did. What Ivy said had really gotten to her, and she spent the night overthinking things without getting much sleep. 

Harley had been tossing and turning all night until it started to get light out, she gave up on trying to get more sleep at this point and rolled out of the bed. She groaned loudly when she noticed the overhead clock read six in the morning. Realising that no one would be up at this time, she went to take a shower and do more reflecting. Harley decided to video call Haley at half seven, to update her on what happened the night before. It took her a little while to answer, allowing Harley to see nothing but her own reflection in the screen. It was obvious that she hadn’t slept well in god knows how long, as her eyes were dark and sunken. She could also practically see the guilt and despair in her own eyes, and she hated it.

Just then, Haley’s face came to life on the screen with a hopeful smile “Hey, Harley.”  
“Hey sis” she replied, sounding more down then she meant to.  
Her sister’s smile quickly faded “Oh dear, judging by your voice you don’t have good news.”  
Harley nodded, “I haven’t asked everyone yet, but no one knew what it was.”  
Haley sighed and looked away as Harley continued, “most of them advised me to show it to The Joker though of all people,” she laughed bitterly.  
Haley looked back at her, “Oh”  
Harley stared at her suspiciously for the response, “I was expecting you to be a little more surprised than that.”  
“I was surprised at first… when Ivy suggested it to me before you left” She admitted carefully. Harley only glared at her intensely, “I’m guessing you don’t like the idea of asking him then?”  
“Of course I don’t! I’ve spent the last six years keeping her a secret, why would I now decide to tell him about her?”  
“Um, because she’s dying and she does want to see him” she stated flatly,  
“How do you know that?” Harley asked angrily  
“She told me.”  
Harley rolled her eyes, “of cause she did” she muttered.  
Haley exhaled heavily at her sister’s attitude. “Look, I’m not going to argue with you over this” She began. “But April is getting worse and you know that, even if she can’t be cured you should still tell The Joker. Even if he can’t help her, she still wants to meet him before she dies.” And with that statement; Haley hung up, leaving Harley stunned and without words. 

She really didn’t know what to say to that. She knew in a way that Haley was right, but she still didn’t want to tell The Joker. Ivy was right too; she knew that Harley was afraid of what he’d do to her. She wouldn’t exactly expect him to take the news of finding out that he has a child lightly. She continued to stare at her blank screen for a few more seconds, before she finally gathered up her things and left to continue on with her mission. 

She decided to find and ask Mr Freeze next, as he didn’t go to the ice burg lounge. Luckily she got the numbers of the other criminals she needed to see from Scarecrow last night. When she got a hold of him, he wasn’t thrilled to talk to her, but then again he wasn’t thrilled to talk to anyone. He reluctantly accepted to see her as she said it wouldn’t take long, which it in fact didn’t because he didn’t recognise the substance and he was too busy to help even if he could. 

Harley wanted to ask Bane next but unfortunately thanks to the news, she found out that he had been recently arrested by Batman, so he was out of the question. She spent the rest of the day travelling from place to place, trying to find someone who could help. Once the sun had begun to set, she finally decided to go back to the ice burg lounge. she needed a change of scenery and something to take her mind off of her troubles. 

As she entered, she saw pretty much the same people there as last night. It was a very busy place tonight, so she didn’t have a problem blending in as she made her way over to the bar with her head hanging low. She slumped at the bar counter and caught Tracy’s attention in doing so. “You alright Harley love, what can I get ya?” she asked sympathetically.  
“Just a rum and coke” Harley sighed, Tracy furrowed her brow at Harley’s tone but headed off to prepare her drink.  
“Harley, is everything alright?” Crane spoke from behind her, she turned her head in his direction but said nothing. He moved to stand next to her, “Ivy tells me-”  
“Shhh, not so loud” Harley whispered as Tracy reappeared with her drink.  
“I’m sure Ivy’s told you a lot hasn’t she?” Harley asked him once Tracy left,  
“She hasn’t actually, she kept it very brief.”  
Harley took a swig of her drink and began drawing invisible shapes with her finger on the counter, “what did she say then?”  
“She said that you know someone who’s very ill and that you don’t want a certain someone knowing.” He gestured over towards The Joker with his eyes, who sat in his usual place at the back.  
Harley followed his gaze and sighed again “Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”  
There was pause for a minute as Crane watched her staring at The Joker. “Why Harley, why can’t he know?” he asked quizzically. Harley stayed silent and went back to facing the bar and took another drink.  
“He just can’t,” she muttered sadly.  
Crane let out a sigh of his own “You can tell me, I am your friend after all”  
“Yeah, but you’re also friends with J, and he’d be pissed at you too if he ever knew that you were in on the secret as well.”  
“Ah, so whatever the secret is you don’t want him knowing because he’d be angry” He spoke in realisation. Harley nodded, “You’re afraid of what he’ll do to you” Crane then concluded, putting emphasis on ‘afraid.’  
Harley quickly shot her head in his direction before standing up straight, “what is it with you people?!” she shouted furiously into his face, causing him to lean back slightly. Harley then quickly stormed off into one of the empty rooms which were used for negotiating, that were just off to the left near the entrance. With a few confused eyes following her. 

She was now alone, and she quickly began pacing. Everything suddenly hit her at once; her daughter was dying and no one knew what was wrong or how to cure her. Everyone she knew was telling her that she was a coward for not going to The Joker. They used to side with her on keeping April a secret but now they wanted her to come clean. She had spent so long hiding it, she didn’t really see the point in any of it now. What was the point in sending April away and trying to make her normal if she wasn’t going to co-operate, and what was the point of keeping her from The Joker if she wanted to meet him anyway. April wasn’t normal, Harley knew that and there was no changing that, and she knew April would find a way to meet him one way or another even if she wasn’t sick. 

Harley was fed up and way overtired, she hadn’t even eaten a lot that day. She had devoted all her time to this and it was starting to take its toll on her. She was worried for her daughter, and she had a right to be as she seemed terminally ill. Harley then plopped down onto one of the seats in defeat as long overdue tears began to fall, and she let out a load of quiet sobs as her mind gave way. 

At this point she hadn’t even noticed that someone had entered the room, as her head was now buried in her hands and resting on her knees.  
“Hello, Harley.”  
She froze instantly at the very distinctive voice, and the daunting realisation of who it belonged to.


	5. Chapter 5

She paused her sobs and slowly lifted her head in the direction of the, oh so familiar voice. There stood The Joker. He was casually leaning with his arms folded on the large wooden door, which he had closed behind himself when he entered. He wasn’t giving her his usual toothy grin, instead it was just a devious smile as he had caught her. 

Harley quickly wiped away her tears from her face, with a tissue she’d pulled out from her Leather Jacket pocket. “What do you want?” she blubbered bitterly.  
The Joker slowly sauntered his way towards her and sat down on the bench opposite her, “I think it’s time me and you had a little chat.”  
‘Oh crap’ Harley instantly thought. “What about” she asked quietly while trying to avoid eye contact and hiding her face behind the tissue.  
“I think you know” he told her as he leaned on both his knees and clasped his hands together.  
Harley let out a long despaired sigh and glanced up at him, she quickly debated in her head what she was going to do now but nothing presented itself. “Why do you care?” she then asked fiercely as she wiped her nose and put away the tissue.

“I know you very well, Harley; I can tell when you’re trying to hide something from me. You’ve been acting very strange and I can’t help but feel involved,” He told her calmly.  
Harley continued to hang her head low before glancing at the paper next to her. It was as if a battle was taking place in her head as she continued to stare at the object; one side was screaming at her to stop and continue to leave him out of this, while the other screamed for her to give in and finally involve him. “What the hell” she finally murmured, as she then picked it up and slowly reached it out towards The Joker with shaking hands. 

He raised a brow in confusion before accepting the mysterious item. “Do you know what it is?” she asked in defeat, for what felt like the thousandth time in the past couple of days. The Joker slowly opened it and began studying for a moment. She watched as his intensely green eyes hovered from one side of the page to the other, while half of her brain was internally smacking her.  
His eyes then gazed up at her as she sat there nervously, chewing on her bottom lip. “This is what you’ve been showing to people?” he asked in disbelief.  
She was slightly taken aback by his response but quickly recovered. “Do you know what it is?” she repeated, with more urgency in her voice than she intended.  
He narrowed his eyes in agitation, “Of cause I know what this is, Harley. I’m surprised you don’t.”  
Harley’s eyes instantly lit up as she straightened her posture, she couldn’t believe it. “What is it?” she asked, while trying to keep her composure.  
The Joker continued to look baffled as he shifted his eyes between her and the paper. “It’s the disease I accidentally created, I’d recognise it anywhere.”

Harley’s eyes went wide in realisation, she suddenly felt like someone had pelted her on the head with the news. “Of cause” she gasped aloud, as the tears returned to her eyes. “How could I have been so stupid?” she grumbled angrily as she then palmed her forehead with her hand repeatedly. 

“Harley” The Joker began, she instantly snapped out of her daze when she recognised his threateningly calm tone of voice. “Firstly; why do you have this when the disease died out years ago? Secondly; why are you going from person to person to find out what it is? And thirdly; Why didn’t you just come to me first?” his voice got louder and more irritated with each question he ask.  
She momentarily froze, unsure of what to say next. She went over each of his questions in her head, and tried to think of the best response to give. “I need a cure” she blurted out quietly, “badly.”  
The Joker leaned forward even further as he glared at her hard, “Why?” he growled.  
She shuffled on her seat uncomfortably, “You’re not gonna like it” she muttered after a moment.  
“I’m all ears,” he spoke darkly as he continued to glare.

Harley took in a long deep breath. She had dreaded this moment since the day she discovered that she was pregnant, and now it was finally happening. The nightmares were coming true and she just hoped that it didn’t end as badly as she imagined. She swallowed her fear and began explaining. “Six years ago, when you were infected with the disease, you got me pregnant.” The Jokers face scrunched up and he straightened his posture slightly, but she couldn’t tell if it was out of bewilderment, shock or anger. Not wanting him to get mad too soon, she continued. “I wanted the child to be normal and nothing like us, and I didn’t want it to live in a dysfunctional and danger filled environment, so I went into hiding to have the baby and let it be raised by my sister. But I quickly realised that something was wrong. Even before the baby arrived I knew it, but I didn’t know what. The child just got worse and worse as she got older, to the point that she is now dying, which is why I’ve come to Gotham to find someone who could help” She confessed slowly. She searched his eyes for any indication of what he was thinking, but his expression hadn’t changed.  
“If I knew that it was the same disease which almost killed you, I would have gone to you first” she added with heavy regret. “But I didn’t want you to know about her because you are too obsessed with batman to have a child; you wouldn’t have had time for her.” 

There was an incredibly long silence as she finished her story. In The Jokers first instinct was to think that she was lying or joking. But the fact that she was sat in front of him, with tears in her eyes and pouring her heart out meant that she was deadly serious. He didn’t move, he just closed his eyes in order to compose himself of what she had just said. He had a child, a daughter that Harley never told him about, and she was in fact dying of the same disease that almost killed him. He wasn’t sure how to feel about this information. It was like the news itself had caused his brain to overload, as he just didn’t know what to make of it.

When he opened his eyes, he quickly lunged at Harley and pinned her against the wall by her throat, knocking furniture over in the process. Her feet were barely touching the ground. He moved so fast that she didn’t even get a chance to react as her head made contact with the hard wall, allowing her to see stars for a quick second. She quickly gasped for air instinctively as she was deprived of it. “Now isn’t this is such an interesting predicament we have here?” He started calmly as he leaned into her.

“Mr J, please, I know you’re angry” she started.  
“Angry? Oh I’m not angry my dear, I’m furious!”  
Harley tried to pull his grip off but it seemed useless as his body was firmly pressed up against hers. “I know what I did was wrong, but I knew you wouldn’t want to know that you had a child.”  
This only caused him to tighten his grip around her neck as she winced from the pain. “I’d prefer you to not have my child at all!” he spat. “But if you are, I’d at least expect you to have the common decency to tell me!”  
“You would have made me get rid of it” she told him eagerly as she desperately tried to draw in air,  
“Not necessarily” He shook his head in defence as she continued to gasp.  
“Well how was I meant to know that when you were always so against the idea of having one.” 

He rolled his eyes at her dramatically. “Because I didn’t want one, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have let you keep it. Like with Bud and Lou, I didn’t want them but we still kept them.”  
She creased her brow in confusion before groaning, “I wouldn’t have even known what to say to you, if I was gonna tell you” she told him breathlessly.  
“I wouldn’t have cared how you told me, Harley! Even if you came up to me and said ‘hey Mr J I think you might have put something in my uterus.’ That’s still better than not saying anything and running off!”  
“I’m sorry,”  
“And even better” he spat before regaining his self-control. “You waste precious time in asking those imbeciles out there for help” he gestured to the door with his eyes, “when I had the answer all along, I even know how to cure it.”  
Harley stopped struggling and searched his eyes through the haze, “so you can cure her?”  
“Of cause, I made the disease. Granted I didn’t make the cure, but I found a way to obtain it for my collection,” he admitted. As she was beginning to turn blue, he released his grip only a little and lowered her so her feet were touching the ground.  
Harley inhaled sharply as he eased, “Will you help her?” she then asked hopefully. 

The Joker leaned into her again, “I don’t exactly see why I should.”  
This is what Harley was expecting him to say, yet it still pained her to hear the words come out of his mouth. “She’s still you’re daughter, J and it shows, god does it show and she needs your help” Harley pleaded in a desperate attempt to convince him.  
The Joker didn’t say anything, he just continued to stare at her. “We’re running out of time, I don’t know how much long she has left” Harley added as more tears surfaced and ran down.

The Joker looked to the side briefly as if in thought, which Harley took as an obvious good sign. “Has she started coughing up blood?” he then asked, although it sounded rhetorical. Harley did her best to nod and The Joker’s face changed slightly, as if he didn’t want that answer. “As long as she hasn’t started to resemble a decomposing corpse, she’s not in any real danger” He then informed her confidently.  
Harley’s eyes suddenly went wide with concern, “She has actually.” 

“Oh” he drew out slowly, “Then I can confirm that she doesn’t have long.” Harley noticed that he was actually starting to take an interest in the situation, as his tone and facial expression had softened. She couldn’t help but smile slightly at this, despite the fact that he had her pinned in a most uncomfortable position. Maybe there was hope after all. 

“Her name is April,” Harley then spoke after a pause. The Joker scoffed at the name, but she could tell that he obviously liked it as he smiled. “She was born on April fool’s day” she added.  
The Joker raised a brow at her “You think buttering me up is going make me want to help her?”  
“I know you wouldn’t want to help unless you know a bit about her.” The Joker only shrugged his shoulders in minor agreement.  
Harley began to try and move again as his hold had become less painful, “I’m not asking you to do it for me, do it for her. She wants to meet you.”  
“Does she indeed?” he chirped, as he tightened his grip at her attempts to come loose. “Then how come the fact that she wanted to meet me didn’t make you come to me first?” he then growled darkly. Harley fell silent, she didn’t have an answer for that one. The Joker pulled his lips into a tight line like he knew why she didn’t answer. 

“You shouldn’t make April pay for my mistakes, please will you help her?” Harley croaked out again.  
The Joker rolled his eyes and sighed before pulling away from her, allowing her to stumble and gasp for oxygen. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do” he muttered. “But on one condition” he quickly added as he raised a finger to her face as she stood up straight.  
“Anything” Harley begged as she ignored the finger and looked into his eyes.  
“I want to be involved in her life from this point on.”  
Harley stared at him astonished; she wasn’t expecting him to request such a thing. “Um…of cause Mr J” she beamed. She knew in her head that she'll probably end up trying to reconsider his request, but seeing as this was all he asked of her she couldn't exactly say no. He could have wanted a favour or some kind of reward, yet he asked for involvement of all things. But the question is, why?  
“Good” he replied cheerily, “There’s just one tiny little thing I need to do first.”  
“What’s that?” she asked.  
“This,” The Joker then quickly punched Harley straight in the face, sending her backwards and onto the floor with a thud. She was rendered unconscious within seconds. The Joker let out a satisfied sigh as he relaxed his shoulders, “ah, that feels better” he smiled as he then picked up the piece of paper which had fallen to the floor and strolled out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

“Harley?!” a faint voice called, “Harley!?”  
Harley groaned painfully before opening her eyes. The first thing she saw when her vision came into focus was both Ivy and Crane peering over her, with worried expressions. “Huh, what happened?” she asked groggily as she slowly sat up and realised that she was on the floor.

“We were hoping that you could tell us that?” Crane spoke as both him and Ivy pulled her up and sat her on one of the benches.  
Harley lifted her hand to her face as it ached intensely, “That and… what happened to your face” Ivy added as she gestured to the damage. Harley scrunched her face in confusion before pulling out her phone and bringing up the face camera.  
“What the?” Harley began in shock. The bridge of her nose had swelled up and had a split with dried blood clinging to it, and both her eyes and nose had turned a blueish purple. The events of what had occurred then began to slowly come back to her as she drew her hand up to her temple. “I told Mr J” she finally answered breathlessly as she looked up at her friends.  
“Ah,” Ivy spoke. “I guess he didn’t take the news too well then?”  
Crane looked from Harley to Ivy at a loss, “Told him what?”  
“I told him everything.”  
“And?” Ivy asked eagerly.  
“He said that it was the disease that almost killed him six years ago,” Harley muttered as she continued to remember.  
Ivy held her chin in thought. “Well I suppose if you two conceived her while he was infected, then it is possible that she inherited it off of him. Isn’t that how he infected all those other people, by giving them his blood?” Harley nodded slowly, as she replayed the convocation in her head. “Ah, that might explain why she’s so much like him.” 

Crane was still looking as baffled as ever, “wait, what?!” he gasped. “You and J have a kid?!” Ivy quickly hushed him as she clasped her hand over his mouth.  
“Hang on, how come you didn’t recognise the disease yourself then?” Ivy asked. “Surly you must have noticed a similarity between the two.”  
Harley parted her lips as she thought over her question. “I guess my brain was trying to repress that thought. It was such a horrible time for the both of us, I just kept trying to forget that it ever happened. So the idea that our own child might have that awful disease was just too daunting to even consider.” 

Crane palled away from Ivy as they shared looks and shrugged at the plausibility of her statement. Ivy then diverted the conversation back to the previous one. “So what exactly happened between you two in here, is he going to help?”  
Harley began feeling around her nose to see where it hurt most, as she continued to recollect the last part of her and Joker’s convocation. “I think so but I’m not sure, He might have been lying for all I know” She grumbled. “Hang on, how long was I out?” Harley then asked in a panic as she came out of her daze.  
“We aren’t sure, but it’s been maybe an hour and a half since you stormed away from me,” Crane told her as he glanced at his watch.  
“Crap!” Harley cursed, she then immediately started searching the small room with her eyes. “Where’s the paper?!”  
Ivy and Crane looked at each other for a moment, “you lost it?!” Ivy asked hastily.  
“Oh no, I bet The Joker took it!” Harley then bolted for the door before her friends could ask any more questions.

.............

After The Joker left the Ice burg lounge and stepped out into the bitterly cold temperature of the night, he stuffed the paper in his trench coat pocket and hurried to his deep purple car. Once inside, he ran his hands down his face and exhaled heavily. He didn’t know why he gave in to help someone that he has never met and knows nothing about, yet he couldn’t help but feel extremely curious. He really wanted to dwell over the situation more and how he felt about it, but seeing as the Kid obviously didn’t have a lot of time left, he decided to think about it later as he started the car and drove off. 

He drove to Amusement mile as it was his main hideout where he kept most of his important goods, and went straight to his underground laboratory, where he did all of his experiments. He studied the document again as he entered, before going to fetch the needed antidote from one of the many fridges lined against the wall. It didn’t take him long to spot the needed vile amongst them all as it glowed a fluorescent green. He then hastily began filling his counter top with a variety of different equipment, as the antidote may need to be modified, but unfortunately he couldn’t do that until he examined the child further. After he laid everything out in preparation and did some quick research, he returned to his car. 

.............

It was almost ten in the evening and Haley had only just finished tidying up the kitchen from dinner. She had to be vigilant towards April, so she never got anything she needed to do done till the last minute. She stared out of the kitchen window into the moonlight as she dried her hands on a towel. She hoped that Harley had found help by now as April had barely been awake that day, she was really growing weak. Their brother wouldn’t give them an estimate of how long she may live, but she knew it wasn’t a lot. 

Haley sighed to herself as she put her tea towel down and headed for her phone, which lay on the dining table. She was going to give Harley another call to let her know how April was doing, but she didn’t get a chance to as there was suddenly a knock at the front door. She paused and glanced at the overhead clock, “Who on earth could that be?” she asked out load as she headed to open it. 

She pulled open the door and instantly gasped in shock at who was standing in front of her. “Good evening ma’am, you must be Haley” The Joker grinned from ear to ear as he took of his hat and bowed slightly. She couldn’t speak, nor move. She had never met the infamous clown, nor did she want to. The fact that she had heard so much about him from Harley made him being here feel so much stranger, and unnerving. It was almost like he didn’t seem real up until now.  
“Am I right in thinking that there is something here that requires my assistance?” He then asked when she didn’t speak.  
“Um… uh hu” she stuttered with an awkward nod. 

“Splendid!” he beamed. “May I come in, I promise not to hurt you” he smiled deviously. Haley didn’t know why, but she slowly moved to the side so he could enter. It was as if his gaze alone could put you in a trance. He quickly began to take in his surroundings curiously, and move into the living room.  
He carried on examining the room until his eyes fell on the collection of framed photographs, displayed above the fireplace. He walked towards them and although there was many to choose from, he only seemed to be interested in one as he picked it up. This was the only photo displayed of the green haired child. 

It appeared to be Christmas day, as she was sat on the floor surrounded by wrapping paper and in front of a Christmas tree. She was wearing a purple stripy onesie, while clutching a shiny blue and green jack-in-the box, with a huge smile plastered on her face. She must have only been two or three years old. The Joker couldn’t stop looking at the photo with a tilted expression as Haley watched him from the other side of the room wearily, yet in wonder. 

Despite how happy she looked, The Joker was quick to notice that her skin was very patchy in places from what he can presume was the illness. He didn’t really have expectations of what his child may look like, it could obviously go either way. She could have come out looking like a miniature version of Harley, but it seems she’s opted for the miniature Joker look instead and it did make him smile a little. After realising he was probably looking at the picture for longer than he meant, he awkwardly put the frame back where he found it and turned his attention to Haley. 

“I hate to barge in on you at this hour, but I was told that it was an urgent matter” he spoke. Haley only nodded again as it seemed she was still too shell shocked to speak. The Joker found that her behaviour was beginning to irritate him, as he furrowed his brow at her and strolled about the room. “I’m going to need you speak now” He growled.  
She jumped slightly at his tone before gaining the courage to talk, “It- it is an urgent matter” she stuttered.  
“Now, let’s forget that I’ve killed many people because you clearly seem a bit uneasy,” The Joker started as he sat down on the armrest of the sofa, facing her directly. “I want you to tell me about how her condition affects her, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t stumble over your own words while explaining.” 

Haley swallowed the lump in her throat. “Um, well she sleeps all the time and has stopped eating,” She responded awkwardly from where she stood in the door frame while fiddling with her hands. The Joker hummed in thought as Haley couldn’t hold in her confusion any longer. “Mr Joker?” she began as he looked up at her, “h-how come Harley isn’t with you?”  
“Ah, well you see I am exceptionally angry at her.” he explained calmly as he stood back up. “And I wouldn’t have been able to suppress my need to bash her pretty little head in if I allowed her to tag along.”  
“Oh, Okay” she replied nervously. “Well at least she finally told you.”  
“Yes, after some much needed persuasion” he confirmed. “Now before I go and see… this child” He stumbled, “I’d like you to tell me about Harley’s relationship with her.”  
“Their relationship?”  
“Yes, considering Harley was so against coming to me for help, I wondered why. She even told me that apparently the girl requested me, but didn’t have an answer when I asked her why that didn’t encourage her to talk to me.” 

Haley understood what he was saying and she did her best to tell him and explain. She told him about Harley’s expectations and how April never met them, and as much as she could about why she wanted to leave him out of the picture so much. Although there was still things that even she couldn’t explain, as Harley did keep a lot to herself when it came to her daughter. 

The Joker didn’t seem to express any emotion as Haley spoke. “Interesting,” he muttered thoughtfully, as he walked into the hallway and started towards the stairs once she was done. The Joker stopped once he heard the rushed sound of keys in the front door, they both watched as it was quickly flung open with Harley storming inside. Haley gasped at the sight of Harley’s nose as Joker grinned brightly at her. “Harley, so nice of you to join us” he chirped as he extended both his arms in welcome.  
She instantly glared daggers at him, as she approached heavily. “You’re looking as lovely as always, I see” he cackled. She quickly went to return the punch he gave her when he instantaneously grabbed her fist and spun her around, holding her in a locked position from behind. “Now, now let’s not make a scene in front of your sister, we both know that you deserved that” he spoke calmly, yet threateningly into her ear.  
Harley growled angrily, “Let go of me!” 

Haley had backed up against the wall at the scene, and she suddenly understood why her sister’s face was so battered. She knew that she should probably side with Harley, but she also knew that The Joker kinda had every right to do what he did. “Harley, he has a point. He did come all this way to see April, this isn’t about you” she intervened lightly.  
“Well put, Haley” He agreed before smiling down at Harley.  
Harley growled under her breath before relenting, “Fine.” The Joker instantly let go of his hold on her as she huffed and straightened her jacket. “How did you even know where my sister lived?” she grumbled.  
"Research" he replied simply. “Now why don’t you be a doll and lead me to our daughter’s room,” He then grinned happily as he gestured up the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

Harley reluctantly led The Joker up the stairs to see April, with Haley following behind. “Have you seen what she looks like?” Harley asked with little to no enthusiasm in her voice, as they reached the landing and flicked on the light.  
The Joker glanced around the area in curiosity as they continued “Well, I’m aware of who she looks like” he chuckled. “I saw a photograph of her on the mantel, she looks quite the character.”  
Harley scoffed dryly as they carried on walking down the hall, “Well she looks considerably different now, I can tell you that much.”  
“I can imagine” He responded more seriously as they then stopped outside the infamous door.  
The Joker eyed it as Harley grabbed the handle, “wait here” she whispered. “Let me introduce you, otherwise she’ll just think you’re not real.” The Joker nodded in understanding, making a mental note of her having hallucinations, and adding it to his list of symptoms. 

Harley slowly opened the door and closed it half way behind her before she approached the child, who lay almost lifeless in the bed. She practically looked like she had become part of the mattress at this point. The room was in complete darkness, apart from the glowing fairy lights which helped April sleep and provide her with some form of comfort. “April?” Harley called softly. The girl let out a small whimper in her sleep and scrunched her face slightly. “April it’s me, mummy” she spoke again as she flicked on the orange bedside lamp and perched on the side of the bed.  
April slowly opened her eyes and narrowed them at her mother sleepily, “mummy?” she croaked. The Joker stood as quietly as possible from outside the room, listening to his child’s voice for the first time. He frowned to himself at the way it sounded, and it gave him unpleasant flashbacks to when he sounded the same.

“Hey sweetie, did you miss me?” Harley spoke while stroking her pasty, IV hooked hand.  
April only stared up at her mother, puzzled. “What happened to your face, are you trying to look like me?” Harley smiled down at her daughter in amusement. The two were then interrupted by a small chuckle which came from outside the room that April didn’t recognise. She moved her eyes over towards the noise. “Who’s that?”  
“Mummy fell over and hit her face, that’s all” Harley explained sweetly, before standing up and heading to the door. Even she couldn’t help but feel a little excited about this moment. “Remember I told you that I was going to find help?” April nodded yet the confusion didn’t leave her face. “Well, honey. Someone has come here to see you,” she smiled wide.

April raised her brows in hope, she didn’t really believe that her mum would be able find anyone else. She had so far pretty much given up. But compared to all the other times her mother brought someone over, she looked confident. It made her very curious as to who was standing behind the door, especially considering they laughed. None of them had ever laughed before. 

Harley then turned on the main light and opened the door fully for The Joker to step into the room. April had expected another weird doctor to come in, however that is not what she found. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened to an extent she had never achieved before, at the new figure. The Joker tilted his head to the side before smiling at her warmly, as he cautiously approached. 

“Well hello there,” he greeted gently and sat down next to her. April didn’t move, she just stared at him as if he was Santa. The Joker didn’t waste much time in studying her appearance. He didn’t like that he was able to see the outline of her eye sockets which made her eyes appear darker, in fact the anorexia had made her whole skull look defined as well as the rest of her. He didn’t like what he was seeing at all. She looked just like he did when he was ill, if not worse. He placed one hand on her forehead to be confirmed of a temperature before leaning into her and speaking softly, “Do you know who I am?”

April appeared to be unsure of whether or not what she was seeing was real, as she continued to stare speechlessly. She then reached both her hands up to his face as they shook from weakness. He let her pull him closer while he looked down at her peculiarly. She began searching his face as she held it in her small, rough hands. “I am real, you know?” he reassured her.

“Daddy?” she whispered as tears came to her eyes, The Joker smiled at her sweetly in response. Without warning and to everyone’s surprise, she suddenly sprung up from her place on the bed and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. The Joker let out a surprised grunt at the attack, and quickly placed his hands on either side of her on the mattress to keep himself from being dragged down and crushing her, as she buried her face in his neck and clung to him like her life depended on it. “You look like me!” she squealed. Although it was muffed by the fabric of his coat, she could still be heard.

After The Joker had finished being stunned, he then wrapped his arms around her small fragile frame, and pulled her up with him and onto his lap as she continued to hug him intensely. Harley and her sister, who had been standing against the far wall watched in complete shock at her sudden outburst. She hadn’t moved that fast in over a year. The Joker didn’t know what to do other than to reciprocate her embrace and pat her back, he genuinely felt bad for her as she must have waited ages just to meet him. 

Haley glanced at her sister who had changed from being shocked, to covering her mouth in order to suppress sobs of happiness from the adorableness of what she was witnessing. “I’m guessing you’re happy to see me?” The Joker then chuckled as April stopped hugging him and instead curled up on his lap. The Joker glared over at Harley intensely, as all of this was her fault. She instantly left to stand outside the room, and pull herself together when she met his gaze. He watched her leave without dropping his expression, until he returned his attention to April. He found himself beginning to rock her gently as she snuggled up against him and clung to his coat eagerly with droopy eyes. She was incredibly small, even for a five year old and you could probably fit two of her on his lap in comparison. The disease had obviously affected her growth as well as many other things. 

He shifted his eyes away from his daughter and took in the look of her bedroom as it displayed a lot of her personality. And although he’d love to just sit there while his daughter falls asleep on him, he knew that they should get going. He glanced over at Haley as she was staring off into space, “help me get her ready to leave” he told her sternly.  
“Leave? What do you mean leave?” Harley quickly asked as she re-entered the room.  
“I can’t cure her here” The Joker answered simply, as Haley passed him a thick purple blanked that she had pulled out from one of the dresser draws. He instantly began wrapping it around the shivering girl, who seemed to be regretting her recent burst of energy, as she had now returned to her weak and floppy state. Harley wanted to argue with him more, but she decided against it for April’s sake and moved to help. She aided The Joker in wrapping up April and preparing her for the outside temperature, removed her IV and instead placed the emergency oxygen mask over her face.

The three of them almost seemed like a normal family to Haley, as she watched Joker and Harley actually working together to prepare their child for finally leaving the house after so long. Although it was obvious that The Joker was still mad at Harley, and Harley was still weary of him around April. They seemed to be coping well, as they were still able to communicate without ripping each other’s throats out. 

When they had finished hastily sorting things out, The Joker carried the swaddled girl out of the room with the oxygen tank flung over his back, as she was insistent on staying close to him and down to the front door. In fact the moment he put her down on the bed to grab something from another room, she had started to practically cry. She didn’t speak much after seeing her father, she seemed too weak and tired to talk. Instead she just murmured things and whimpered. 

It was decided that Harley was going to be leaving with The Joker this time, as April had managed to form the words to tell them that she wanted to be with them both. They obviously weren’t too thrilled with this request but thought best to just go along with it. While The Joker was sorting himself out in the living room, with April on the sofa, Harley took this as a chance to speak to Haley in private as they both retreated to the kitchen for one last chat. 

“Harley, do you think April will be coming back here?” Haley asked as soon as the door was shut, as if it was the most important question.  
Harley sighed, “to be honest, I don’t know anymore. I really wasn’t expecting April to react that way to seeing him,” she admitted as she paced the room for a moment.  
“I honestly didn’t see her reacting any other way” Haley chuckled, “Although the energy burst wasn’t fore seen.”  
Harley snapped her attention back to her sister, “Exactly. It just makes me feel bad” she then sighed.  
“Well not to be mean or anything, but you kinda should feel bad” Haley told her flatly.  
“Thanks” Harley replied sarcastically. She walked over to the window and leaned on the counter “What am I meant to do?”  
“I think you should let her stay with him if that’s what she wants” Haley answered her cautiously. “They do look alike, they think the same way and she would probably be a lot happier. You know she doesn’t fit in here.”  
She was expecting Harley to disagree with her like always but instead she nodded, “You’re right” Harley agreed. “But we both know that she’s not just going to want to live with Mr J, she’s going to want us to be together.”  
“Then that’s something you need to think about, and discuss with him” Haley spoke sincerely as she approached and gave her a hug.  
Harley accepted it and was about to continue when she heard The Joker’s irritated voice, “Are you two done yet?”  
“This is definitely better then when you left the last time, isn’t it?” Haley chucked, as they walked back out to join Joker who stood impatiently with April by the door. Harley smiled in agreement, “that is true.” 

Haley watched from the door as the three of them got inside the car before waving good bye and driving off into the night. Haley was relieved to see April finally get the help that she needed, and hopefully have the family that she always wanted.


	8. Chapter 8

Harley hadn’t put into consideration that she was going to be spending the next hour trapped in a car with The Joker. Although she was in the back supporting April who fell asleep as soon as she was placed in the car, she found it more than a bit awkward. The Joker didn’t speak a word as he held the steering wheel tightly with both hands. This was not how he envisioned spending his evening. He didn’t even think his own brain could come up with something this crazy. When he first saw Harley a few days ago, he knew that she was going to break very soon, and he was quickly confirmed of this as she snapped at one her best friends. But he never in a million years, thought it would be because a dying child that he unknowingly had with her. 

It made him think back to when he first met Harley, back in Arkham. The naïve, little blonde doctor that he saw as nothing more than a free ticket out of there, at the time. If he was able to travel back to those days, when he was casually flirting with her to gain her trust, and tell himself what was going to happen if he carried on, he would have doubled over in laughter. He knew that she was going to break him out, and he decided not to kill her because he thought it would be more entertaining to watch her fall at his side. To see her regret her decisions and finally meet her end, due to her own stupidity. He wasn’t expecting her to last even a week, but she quickly proved him wrong and he hated that she was beginning grow on him. He didn’t expect her to live and he didn’t expect to get so involved, and he certainly didn’t see himself getting her pregnant. 

While he was making his way to see the child, he was both excited and unsure. The idea of a miniature version of him and Harley combined was an odd one to ponder. And the way she looked at him when he came in, not to mention her hug. He had gotten use to Harley’s vigorous displays of affection over the years, yet this was so much different. She was so desperate, trying so hard to find the strength to hug him when she was so weak. He could feel the strain when she clung to him, yet it didn’t stop her. It gave him an unusual feeling, one that was alien to him.

He knew he’d never be able to get over that experience, and he knew that Harley wouldn’t either. She was too self-righteous and too much of a coward to go to him first, maybe she even knew what was wrong all along but just chose to stay in denial. Despite this, he could somewhat see where she was coming from when it came to the possibility of him hurting April. He did have a temper after all and he could easily take the anger out on her, it’s not like he didn’t with Harley. Yet he still had a right to know about her, she belonged to him just as much as she belonged to her. 

Meanwhile The Joker was stewing and overthinking in the front, Harley was doing a similar thing in the back. She glanced down at her daughter lovingly, before staring out of her window into the distance. She couldn’t help but reply the part from earlier when April hugged The Joker in her head. She was so happy to see him, Harley wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen her that overjoyed. It caused a wave of guilt to wash over her every single time she thought about it. 

“I’m Sorry,” Harley uttered.  
The Joker didn’t seem to react, but his eyes did shift to look at her momentarily in the rear view mirror. “Why are you sorry?”  
Although Harley knew that he was testing her, she decided to tell him what he wanted to hear. “I’m sorry for keeping her from you, I know I was only trying to protect her but it seems I’ve done the exact opposite,” She answered dismally with a glance his way.  
“At least you know what you’ve done.”  
“Can I ask you a question?” Harley then spoke after a long silence.  
“What?”  
“Why do you want to be involved with April when you never wanted to have a child?” she asked quizzically.

There was a long pause as The Joker pondered her question, “It’s important to have both your parents around, I never had a need for a child but I might as well be there if I’ve got one” he calmly explained.  
Harley looked at April as she took in his words. “Do you want to be there, or do you feel that you have to be there?”  
The Joker frowned at her in the mirror. “Why would I be there if I didn’t want to? If a parent doesn’t want to be there then they shouldn’t be there, that can cause just as many problems as them not being there at all.”  
Harley creased her brow in thought as The Joker continued, “Now this topic of convocation is boring, but since we’re talking I have to ask; when you had her, what did the doctors and nurses think?”  
Harley chuckled slightly as the tension in the air thinned, “well they weren’t too happy I must admit, long story short; they didn’t live to tell the tale.”  
“Atta girl” The Joker smirked.  
“I didn’t want to kill them!” she spoke up in defence.  
“Sure you didn’t, Harley” he responded sarcastically, Harley only huffed and went back to staring out the window.  
“Oh yeah, why couldn’t you cure her at Haley’s?”  
The Joker sighed, “I need to examine her DNA, I have to know how much of the toxin is in her blood.”  
“It’s in all of her cells” Harley answered sorrowfully yet straightforward.  
“Then as I expected the cure I was given wouldn’t help, in fact it would likely killer her”  
Harley looked at him in surprise “Kill her, how?”

The Joker groaned audible as he continued to drive down the highway, which was thankfully calm due the late hour. “Harley, think about it; if this disease makes up a large part of her, and I gave her something which was designed to attack said disease, what do you think would happen?”  
Harley suddenly realised what he was getting at as her eyes lit up, “There would be nothing left of her” she concluded fearfully.  
“Exactly.”  
“So what are you going to do?”  
“It’s difficult to explain, but I’ll have to alter the antidote. Now no more questions, you don’t want to wake her up.”  
Harley turned her head to April as he mentioned her, although she was still fast asleep they continued the rest of the journey in silence, but luckily they had just entered Gotham. 

.................

April woke up as soon as they reached the amusement park due to her being carefully lifted out of the car by her mother, but she was carried inside by The Joker again as she kept trying to reach her hands out for him. He wasn’t use to this sort of attention, as it showed in his face but he still went along with whatever she wanted. Harley chose not to question his actions although she kept trying to decipher his reasons for caring; maybe he felt bad for her as he was once in her shoes, or maybe it was because she had missed out on being around him. Either way, Harley couldn’t help but slightly like what she was seeing. 

The Joker took her straight down to the basement and laid her upon the bed that he had made up for her. The girl was too weak to even look around at her surroundings and she quickly began to dose off again. The Two didn’t waste much time in trying to make her comfortable. The Joker hooked her up to a heart monitor and other machines to aid her breathing, while Harley covered her with the blankets. April didn’t even flinch when The Joker took a sample of her blood. 

As soon as she was settled, The Joker left and headed towards the other room to analyse her DNA and to start preparing her first dose, while Harley stayed by April’s side to keep her company. As April was a lot more content now, she easily fell back to sleep, especially since Harley gave her her favourite teddy. It was completely white with two beady eyes and a green patch of hair on its head, it was something that Harley had gotten made for her. She never like that she was the only one who looked the way she did, so Harley thought the bear would make her feel less lonely. Despite all the snarky comments she got from her sister, about there being something else that Harley could do to solve that problem.

Once Harley was convinced that her daughter was sorted, she quietly left to look in on Joker, who was deep in concentration as he was boiling some type of liquid in a beaker with his back facing her.  
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Harley called softly from the door. The Joker didn’t respond as he took the beaker off the hob, and poured it into a container. “You’re just gonna ignore me the whole time aren’t you?” he still didn’t respond as he added more ingredients to his concoction. She sighed and proceeded to lean on the door frame with her arms folded, while he continued to work. After another ten minutes, Harley grew bored and let out a long sigh.  
“Oh I’m sorry, did you say something?” The Joker beamed as he turned to face her while holding a syringe filled with florescent, green liquid.  
“I said-, oh never mind” she then groaned angrily as he then walked past her towards April with a chuckle.

“April” The Joker sang as he leaned over her, she groaned in response with lidded eyes. “This might sting a little” he warned as he carefully moved her head to the side and eased the needle into her neck, as Harley came over to observe. April did in fact whimper and scrunch her face at the feeling, Harley quickly looked away at the sight. “There we go” The Joker reassured, as he slowly pulled the needle out “all done.”  
“Is that it?” Harley asked as she looked over at him,  
Joker shifted his eyes to her as he put the need to the side on the metal tray, and grabbed some cotton wool and first-aid tape from the nearby table. “Unfortunately not, she’ll need this done once a day until her body stops eating itself” he explained, as he patched up the puncture wound.  
Harley stoked April’s face and watched as she began to relax, “How long will that take?”  
“I don’t know” he responded truthfully while he too watched April as she instantly fell back to sleep.  
“How are you enjoying parenthood?” she then asked cautiously,  
“My brain is still processing it” he muttered as he continued to stare at the child, and feel the rough texture of the back of her exposed hand.

Harley suddenly came aware of the situation she was in; herself and The Joker where standing in the same room, at either side of their child’s bed, watching her as she slept. It felt…nice, she always wanted to experience these moments but as she left The Joker out, she didn’t get to. This was the first time, and it quickly overpowered all of their bad moments. She did still have incredibly strong feelings for The Joker despite everything, so maybe she could go back to the way things were before, with the added bonus of the quirky child that they had created together.

Harley hadn’t even noticed that The Joker had stopped watching April and had moved to leave. As soon as she came back to reality, she swiftly moved around the bed and pinned The Joker against the wall, crushing her lips on his. His eyes bulged in shock as she held him there with her eyes closed, lost in her own bliss even though her aching nose was nagging at her. He didn’t do anything to stop her at first, that was until his senses kicked in and he gently pushed her away. On any other day, he might have reciprocated the kiss. But he didn’t think she currently deserved that. She coughed awkwardly as he stared at her for an explanation.  
“That’s my way of saying thank you, and that I really am sorry about everything.”  
“You don’t need to thank me for trying to save my own daughters life” he finally spoke, “but I appreciate it.”  
Harley smiled up at him, which he returned before moving away from the wall and heading out the door. “I suppose you’re going to be staying here a while then?” he asked as he looked over his shoulder.  
“Yep, you’re stuck with me again” she chirped, as she followed him out to let April rest. 

.............

The next few days past fairly smoothly; Harley was officially living back with The Joker, although he wouldn’t let her sleep in his bed and he wasn’t accepting her as his girlfriend again yet. The Joker had brought in his own private doctor to keep April comfortable and provide her with what she needed, as she still refused to eat. Because Harley and Joker had shared custody of Bud and Lou and they were currently living with him, Harley wanted to let them in with April as she barely ever got to see them, and it would definitely cheer her up. But unfortunately The Joker didn’t want them in his lab in case they broke something, which Harley understood but still pouted at. 

Harley had now told him everything about April so he had a good idea of what he was getting himself into, seeing as he was keeping her around. And One of the first things that Harley did was inform Ivy and Crane of the good news, which they were overjoyed to hear and they soon came by to pay visits and leave ‘get well soon gifts’ for April. Ivy also got the pleasure to leave Harley with the biggest ‘I told you so’ she had ever given her, and she was even partly glad to see her back with The Joker again. 

The few days quickly turned into a few months. April was looking better as each day past and no longer needed to be kept in the basement, instead Harley and Joker, who were now a couple again had brought her things over from Haley’s and made her a room. She was thrilled, and more so that she could now express it, by hugging them both without needing a nap to recover like usual. 

As Harley and everyone else had predicted, April and Joker got on like a house on fire. She loved it when he told her about the things he had done and the things he was planning to do, and he loved hearing about the things she had done as well. Unlike her aunt and mother, he would laugh along with her at other people’s misery and encourage her to do more. He even showed her some of his weapons and toys, which she kept wanting to play with but he told her not until she was much better. She still had to stay in bed most of the time, or stay on the sofa watching TV with Bud and Lou protectively by her side, and she still needed to be given the antidote. 

They had become a lot more like a family; The Joker and Harley barely fought and instead devoted most of their time to April. The Joker still went on killing sprees which Harley only sometimes joined him on, with Ivy as a baby-sitter, but she mainly stayed with their daughter. It was like their equivalent to leaving for work. They could be like any other family but instead of a normal job, they went out to kill people and rob banks, and instead of having normal dogs they had two hyenas.

Harley was very glad that she finally let The Joker in, she sometimes had nightmares about what would have happened if she hadn’t of told him. The Joker was always there for April; he encouraged her, was proud of her and he was always keen on making her happy. Harley was right about the part when she said that once you know that you’re a parent, you change. She became saner, The Joker however didn’t, instead he seemed happier. Harley didn’t even know if that was possible until now. 

Harley never knew what was going to happen to April’s future, but she definitely knew that Batman wasn’t going to like it, especially with The Joker and Herself as her mentors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and i hope you've enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


End file.
